Shadowed Hero
by Annabeth Brady
Summary: He's not even considered a hero. He's the hero known to the world. They are cousins by friendship and blood, but when disaster strikes, will the shadowed hero step forth. Or will the darkness consume him? Onesie. Contains swearing.


_**Before you read this, let me just say: I have no idea what happened. I wanted to write something a bit more angsty and stuff (or at least that's what I was **_**originally ****_aiming for) and this occurred - I don't know what happened._**

**_Not sure how it is conveyed or what happened when I wrote it, but I guess my main reason: I felt like focusing on Nico for something rather than Percy and it decided to come to me on the bus one day... Yeah... Hope you like it._**

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He's not even considered a hero. He's the hero known to the world. They are cousins by friendship and blood, but when disaster strikes, will the shadowed hero step forth. Or will the darkness consume him? Onesie

The green eyed hero swung, careful not to hit his younger cousin. The hero with brown eyes, however, wasn't afraid. He knew it would happen – he knew what would occur.

The son of Hades would be struck and knocked unconscious and – in the midst of it all - his cousin's temper would flare and cackle, feeding the already growing power residing within his almost undefeatable core. The son of Poseidon would defeat the monster because it had touched his cousin, but when the son of Hades would awake, he would be told that Percy couldn't defeat the monster if Nico hadn't been hurt – so, in a sense, he had helped defeat the monster that was now rotting in the deepest pits of Tartarus. But he knew it was a lie, he knew his cousin just told him that because he was too kind for his own good – that would be his down fall just as the gods originally thought.

He would watch as his cousin was reunited with his lover; the legendary _Princess_ of Olympus, Annabeth Adriana Chase. Technically, she wasn't a princess – not even remotely considered royalty – but she was very well known amongst the demigods and Olympians. After all, she was the architect of Olympus! He would watch them rekindle their love with a chaste kiss and hug, then they would race into the lake to do whatever it was that they so choose to do down there. They were the Heroes of Olympus – the hero and heroine, nobody could compare to their love story no matter who or what they were. Annabeth and Perseus – heroes by name; heroes by blood; heroes through life and death; heroes by simply breathing. And there he was, the oldest demigod alive with nothing so much as a clap on the back. Thanks, everyone, feeling the love.

Of course he was jealous of them. He was jealous of the love they shared, the power they held, the authority they'd earned. Everything. But he also felt pity for them; pity for their tortures, pity for losing each other so many times. The list was limitless. When he'd first seen Percy, he thought that this was what true heroes looked like – and they did, but Percy wasn't the average hero. He didn't wind up egotistical, claiming he was the most powerful even in the face of danger. He'd claim he couldn't do what he did without the help of friends and family, which was in some cases true, but usually wrong.

"Hello, Mr di Angelo," he heard the olden master say, "How was the quest, actually?"

He looked into the immortal trainer's brown eyes, "He fought well, Chiron. He protected me when I couldn't protect myself. _Again_." His voice was disgusted, as though he couldn't bear the sight of himself. The centaur looked to him, staring into the dark eyes of the Son of Hades.

"Nico, listen to me," he placed his hand on his shoulder, causing the Son of Hades to glare up at him, "What's troubling you?" The dark haired child of Hades glared at the ground angrily, following the mentor at the strict command. "Come."

Chiron trotted towards the big house, the brooding teenager following behind him unhappily. Settling himself into the brown wheelchair, Chiron nodded his head for him to speak, accepting that the child of Hades would need to vent profusely.

"I'm just tired of being weak. Always having to fight battles, only to pass out, then be woken up and told that because I passed out did we win. It's stupid and annoying." He groaned in frustration, pure fury running through his boiling veins and waited for the trainer of heroes to respond, his usually calmed voice slightly strained from the subtle fear of the shadowed prince.

Seconds ticked passed, sending the demigod into a nervous frenzy, shadows changing shape in the darkest corner of the room as he took shallowed breaths in attempt to steady with rushing heart. "Something tells me there's more to it than that." Chiron said, the corners of his mouth quirking into a hinted gesture, awaiting for the usual blow of the top to emerge from the raging hero.

"Like hell there is," snorted Nico, glaring at everything but the old centaur before him, his mind raging with uncontrolled, reckless thoughts, "Why is it always him? I mean sure, he's Perseus _freaking_ Jackson, Saviour of Olympus, Hero and protector of all that's good and pure. But how can somebody with such a horrible past be so…" The confused hero paused, grappling for the right word on the tip of his tongue, seething at how difficult a single world could truly be. "How can somebody with such a horrible past be like Percy?" He finally forced out through furious lips.

Chiron looked to the struggling teenager with soft eyes, as though looking into the eyes of a poor innocent creature – which Nico di Angelo was not. But, alas, the age old teacher knew that a question would arise at some point or another, as did everybody who had even remotely met the green-eyed prince of Olympus. As did everybody who knew what he was truly capable. As did anybody who had seen what he could truly do – what he, a true hero of Olympus, has seen or done to protect those he truly loved. Everybody who knew the truth behind those powerful green eyes had forewarned the centaur that an array of questions would come at some point or another.

The brown eyed centaur smiled mournfully, his gentle eyes creasing slightly as his previously simple mind wandered to his memories of a lanky twelve year old with fearful eyes and mischievous smile. "Anybody who fights it will become a hero at some point, Mr di Angelo, you just have to win the fight."

Nico looked to the centaur before him, his eyes darkening with pure rage. "But why the _fuck_ does it have to be him? 24/7?" The shadows raged around him like monsters on the prowl for blood, their only perfect adversary miles away with his true loved one. "It's like the rest of us don't exist! I mean, yes, he's good at what he does but why does that make him the hero? Why couldn't it be Katie? Or Travis, or Lou? Why does it always have to be Percy _fucking_ Jackson?" His voice was barely a mutter now, as his power receded slowly and his thoughts became their usual quiet selves. He muttered: "Why couldn't it be me?" If only the dark haired cousin of the mentioned hero realised what the truth behind the words truly were.

The history old master looked to the distraught child with careful eyes. He rolled himself over to the window and looked out over the summer camp, his eyes becoming misty from eons of unshed tears. The weight of millions of lost lives weighing down on the old centaurs shoulders. To heavy for a single person to withstand, but, alas, the teacher continued pushing, just like his students, to protect everybody he possibly could. From his family, enemies, himself, nobody truly knows. The vengeful child of Hades watched his mentor with upmost caution, afraid to push the mentor too far to the brink of insanity.

"Allow me to tell you a story, Nicolas." Nico growled, unhappy with the pitiful name he was stuck with since birth but remained silent as the centaur watched the camp with careful eyes, as though awaiting the eventual explosion to ultimately destroy all that he truly cared for – if only it were ever that simple. "Let me tell you a story of a shadowed hero who fought to protect the innocent many years ago.

"This story is of a boy, younger than twelve, with a rebellious streak and an observant eye. Even before he realised his true abilities, he would protect his friends without powers. Now let me tell you, when he was young, he wasn't the strongest, nor the brightest but he would still have enough wit to silence an enemy or bully. This little hero, my boy, was teased relentlessly and, when he wasn't, was completely ignored all together. Only once he came to this camp was he ever slightly accepted in the mortal world - even then, he still struggles to have what anybody would consider a slightly normal life."

Nico swallowed, feeling pain and pity for the unknown hero that he was being told of.

Chiron continued. "Even here, he was teased but he never once let anything they said deter him from what he was – who he was. The difference between you two is quite slim, Nico. The biggest difference was that when he battled the sorrow, he never stopped fighting, but you did. Whilst you let the ultimate darkness consume your very soul, he refused to give in to the darkness. Heck, even he still hasn't completely beaten it. Even one of my greatest students had spouts of darkness consume him in his moments of weakness. But he still fought."

The centaur smiled mournfully, as though encountering a lost friend rather than a student with a battle to fight. But maybe that's what Nico di Angelo truly was. A friend who requires a push off the path to darkness. His voice was gravelly "That's the biggest difference between you and your cousin, Mr di Angelo. Whilst he fought back, you let the pain cloud your mind."

Nico nodded, but stopped abruptly, realisation hitting him like a tonne of bricks. "Wait, you mean Percy? I didn't realise…" He shrugged off, afraid to finish the sentence that hung onto the air so thickly.

"Aye, lad. Percy." Responded the centaur, a hint of an accent becoming accentuated by his words. "He wasn't always the courageous hero people presume him to be, but he was still fighting the demons inside him. Even more so now after Tartarus. If he's winning, you can too." Chiron smiled softly, reliving the memory of seeing his favourite student again after believing him to be fighting in Tartarus for the rest of humanity or until his life is taken.

Nico swallowed gravely, fear finally coming out of his pale body, leaking carefully into his words. "I'm not sure Chiron… I mean, Percy's, well, Percy – he can do anything." If only you really knew the troubles… thought the old centaur, pity for the green eyed prince increasing at the compliment of his capability. If only they knew the troubles he goes through to get out of bed, or to greet people throughout the day, even the troubles to simply live to the next day.

Chiron rose his eyebrow sceptically, "And you couldn't? Even if you put your mind to it? Remember, not everything is as simple as it once seemed – Perseus Jackson included."

Nico closed his eyes in thought; much like Annabeth would have in this scenario. He knew she would, no matter the problem she would always have her brain racing hundreds of miles a minute. That's just who Annabeth Chase was – the literal brain child of Athena and Frederick Chase. Just as Percy was the child of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. Both were perfect, and maybe, just maybe, they could help the dark haired son of Hades do the same. Overcome the darkness that clouded his mind.

The brown eyes hero looked to the old teacher, just as the teacher knew he would, and nodded.

"Either way though," the child of Hades spoke, "Percy has so many people to help him. He has you, Annabeth, Thalia, the campers, the gods - _everyone_. I'm all alone."

That was where the shadowed hero was wrong. Percy Jackson didn't have everyone to help him through the tough times – he didn't have Ares, or Hera, or Kronos, Gaea or any enemy. The only people he truly trusted to tell his darkest secrets were his two cousins - one of which was standing before the centaur with fisted hands by his side and a clenched jaw – his beloved girlfriend and his mother; both of which were willing to move heaven and Earth to help him through the dark times.

The shadowed hero had people too, he simply didn't realise it. Oh no, he didn't realise that the topic of conversation, or Ms Sally Blofis, or Annabeth Chase or his punkadelic cousin, Miss Thalia Grace.

"Nobody is truly alone unless they make it that way." was the only response the child of Hades got before the century-old centaur left the room, leaving the befuddled teenager to roam his slaughtering mind.

Minutes passed until the creak of a door broke him out of train of thought. "Hey, you okay?"

No he wasn't okay, was the real answer but instead the hero decided to answer with a cold "Fine.", hoping to force the cousin away from him.

His dishevelled black hair fell down his cheek, the subtle hint of water dusting his tanned cheeks. "I want the truth Nico, not something you'd tell a complete stranger." Percy Jackson was not a complete stranger; not by a long shot. He was one of the few people who actually understood the pain Nico di Angelo went through and was willing to share the weight upon his own shoulders.

"Now, spill your guts." Percy's comment wasn't that of a concerned ally , but instead of a battle-hardened commander who wanted to make sure his soldiers were mentally able to do whatever deemed necessary to protect those they were born to protect. Percy Jackson may have beaten the darkness, but he had become a soldier as payment.

He was no longer the wild and free teenager, the prince of the Underworld had deemed. As price for not losing his mind to the darkness that would have killed him, Perseus Jackson had given up the most important part of his childhood. His pure innocence. The child of Hades wasn't fooled, however, that they had lost what little had survived the wars, Tartarus and the variety of attacks upon his mental and physical wellbeing. He instead believed that, whilst the world may disagree, Perseus Jackson, hid his own innocence as what he would have considered a coping mechanism.

And maybe, just maybe, hiding from the world was his. After all, Percy was the Hero, Nico was just the shadow behind him.

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_**Yeah, that actually happened. I have no idea what this is or how it happened - it just did. **_

_**Either way, let me know what you thought in a review down below and don't forget to favourite the story and maybe even follow me?**_

_**Talk to you later guys!**_

_**P.S**_

_**There's a new chapter on Beta, Prince of Chaos, Saviour of Olympus - check it out why don't ya?**_


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